


Gentlest of Remedies

by NamelesslyNightlock



Series: Going Down Swinging [11]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Sick Character, Sick Loki (Marvel), Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is a good boyfriend, Worried Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 20:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19303540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: Loki is a lot of things, but he’s never late. So when Tony has waited for over two hours and Loki still hasn’t arrived for their date, it’s difficult not to start fearing the worst.





	Gentlest of Remedies

**Author's Note:**

> ~~Oh look, the first one of these in over a month which is actually under 2k xD~~  
>   
>  **Prompt** — _“Wow, you look… amazing.”_

Tony’s boyfriend was a lot of things. He was clever and witty and gorgeous, with a mind that Tony adored and a smile that burned brighter than a thousand suns, even if most never saw it. He was a terrible cook and a stealer of blankets, a skilled lover and a caring partner. He was cruel and caring and arrogant and insecure– he was a liar and a trickster and the most honest person Tony had ever known. He was truly amazing, he was the love of Tony’s life—

And, yeah. Tony could spend all day listing all the things that Loki was, but if there was one thing he _wasn’t_ – it was _late_.

Sure, Loki might show up fashionably late to an event, or a party, or just if he wanted to make a dramatic entrance. But if he and Tony had arranged to meet, if they had made _plans_ to spend some time together, then Loki always, _always_ showed up when he said he would.

It was one of those small things that made Tony love him just a little bit more, because Loki found time for that little bit of order amongst the chaos that he so adored, and he did that because he didn’t want to waste a single minute that he could have been spending with Tony.

And Tony had been excited for what they had planned– because Loki said that he was going to take Tony to Niðavellir, to visit the greatest forges in all the Nine to see how they crafted weapons with uru. Loki had promised that he would pick Tony up at noon, and so Tony had been waiting in the living room, all but bouncing on the balls of his feet the moment the clock had struck eleven-fifty-nine. And yet… Loki hadn’t showed.

At first, Tony just assumed that Loki was running a little behind. Perhaps he had been caught in a queue at a store, or – more likely – had simply become engrossed in a chapter of his book?

But as the minutes began to stretch, Tony started to worry– and when it hit the half an hour mark—

“JARVIS?” Tony asked, unable to keep the concern from his tone. “Have you heard anything?”

“No Sir,” JARVIS replied. “Shall I send him a message?”

“Please.”

Tony picked up a StarkPad and started working on some blueprints to distract himself, but even that could not quiet the darker thoughts that were dancing through his mind, unease turning into pure _worry_.

Loki could have got himself into all sorts of problems– he could have been caught or injured, or… _worse_. And yeah, Tony likely would have heard if he’d been captured by SHIELD, but Loki could have been mauled by a bilgesnipe, or locked up in a dungeon on Vanaheim, or he could have been lost on a strange planet or kidnapped by space pirates or a whole other myriad of things that Tony’s imagination was capable of torturing him with.

He knew he was probably being silly, but… Loki really was _never_ this late without at least giving Tony a head’s up, and to make matters worse JARVIS confirmed that Loki wasn’t answering his phone.

By the time two hours had passed, he couldn’t concentrate on anything, and he put the StarkPad down. He was left pacing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the penthouse, trying to convince himself that Loki was fine, trying not to think about all the horrible things that _could_ be happening to him.

Oh, _fuck it_.

“J, get me a suit,” Tony said, turning on his heel and walking swiftly to the landing pad outside. “I’m going to go and find him.”

The first place to check would be Loki’s apartment, and from there… he supposed he could go and search some of the other villains’ lairs, or he could ask Thor if he could hitch a ride on the Bifröst. But he really hoped that it wouldn’t come to that– that Loki was safe and unharmed.

The flight was a short one, as Loki’s apartment wasn’t too far from the tower, and Tony made it to Loki’s window in minutes. (And okay, maybe he could have been a little more subtle, but if Loki was in trouble then Tony wasn’t going to waste time sitting around in New York traffic.) Tony had thought about inviting Loki to live with him in the penthouse too many times to count, but it was still a little too risky with Avengers living on the lower levels and with Loki still enjoying the occasional city-wide prank. And besides, Tony _liked_ the way that they were progressing, getting to know each other better and indulging in the occasional sleepover in each other’s beds. It was slower than he was used to, but that almost made it feel more real.

Tony didn’t waste time admiring the familiar, spacious apartment, which was large and open and decorated tastefully with surprisingly little green. Instead, the moment he stepped in through the window and out of his suit he was searching for any sign of his boyfriend, trying to find a clue as to where he was.

“Loki?” Tony asked tentatively, eyes darting as he moved through the living room. He was starting to grow even more worried, thinking that Loki wasn’t there– but then he saw the couch, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Loki was curled up on the cushions, making himself small enough that Tony had missed him until he’d come around to the front of the couch. There was a red afghan that Tony recognised as one that had disappeared from the penthouse twisted around his legs, and his arms were held close to his chest. Tony knelt beside the couch, and reached out to gently take Loki’s hand. It felt far too warm.

“Hey,” Tony whispered, watching as Loki’s eyes flickered open, bleary and unfocused.

“Anthony?” Loki whimpered.

“Loki,” Tony said, still staring in shock. “Wow, you look… amazing.”

Loki groaned, and closed his eyes again.

The fact that Tony hadn’t received a returned quip was quite worrying, as it said rather a lot about how horrible Loki must be feeling.

“What can I do?” Tony asked gently.

“It is just the flu,” Loki replied, his voice a little raspy from a sore throat.

“The _flu?_ ” Tony said, surprised. “Can you even get that? I’ve _never_ seen Thor get sick—” Tony cut himself off, realising that, well, Loki and Thor didn’t exactly have the same physiology, did they? There was a chance they would react differently, and he felt a little guilty for bringing it up.

But, Loki hardly even seemed to notice.

“Thor has always been strangely resistant to illness. Mother always told me that it is all the time he spent playing in the mud as a child.” Loki groaned again, and pressed one of his hands over his eyes. “Maybe, it would have been worth getting so dirty, if this is the consequence otherwise.”

Tony almost smiled. It wasn’t often that Loki was so free with his words– but it wasn’t fun, watching Loki feeling so poorly.

Loki’s breathing had evened a little now, letting Tony know that he was falling back asleep. Tony reached out to place a hand on Loki’s sticky forehead, feeling the heat radiating from his skin. Loki whined a little and even half asleep pressed up into the touch, his own hand falling back down across his chest.

Tony leaned down to press a kiss to Loki’s burning cheek before pushing up into a standing position.

“Come on,” Tony said. “Let’s get you somewhere more comfortable.”

Loki didn’t want to move– he was aching and tired, and tried to tell Tony that he was fine where he was. But Tony knew that he’d probably regret it if he stayed on the couch for however long it took to get better, so he got back into the suit and cradled Loki in his arms, carrying him to his bed. He managed to pull back the covers well enough so that Loki would not be lying on top of them, and then he turned back for the door.

“Anthony,” Loki rasped, his hand stretching out a little.

“Don’t worry,” Tony said, stepping out of the suit again so he could take Loki’s hand between both of his own. “I won’t be long, I promise.” It was hard to let go when Loki so obviously wanted him to stay, but he knew that it was for the best.

He had been in the apartment often enough to know his way around the kitchen, and he filled a large glass with water. Then he went straight back to Loki, and carefully handed him the glass, helping him curl his fingers around it.

“You need to drink,” he said.

On top of feeling annoyed at being woken again, Loki looked like drinking was the last thing he wanted to do. But he still downed the water in one go before curling back up with a familiar stubbornness and that was relieving to see.

Once Tony had refilled the glass, he also grabbed a hand towel from the bathroom, wet it with cool water and used it to wipe Loki’s brow, hoping that it might bring him some relief.

That done, there wasn’t really anything left for Tony to do other than to simply _be_ there. So Tony instructed JARVIS to take the suit back home and to let the other Avengers and Pepper know that he wouldn’t be back for a while, and then he stepped around to the other side of the bed.

“Budge over a bit, will you?”

Loki’s eyes opened just slightly as he eyed Tony’s movement. “You’re going to get sick.”

“Nah, I had my flu shot this year,” Tony said. “We’re going to have to work out a way to give you one next year, if this the result.”

Loki still seemed dubious, but he relaxed back into Tony’s hold anyway, letting the other man hold him. Not too close, because Loki was overheating– but close enough to be comfortable. Tony leaned down to kiss the top of Loki’s head as he snuggled into Tony’s shoulder, and he ran his fingers gently though Loki’s hair in smooth strokes.

“I am sorry that I ruined our day,” Loki whispered.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tony replied. “There is nowhere that I would rather be than right here with you.”

Loki melted even further, going boneless against Tony’s chest despite the shakes that the illness sent trembling down his limbs.

And, while Tony had been excited to visit Niðavellir, he knew that they could just go another day. In that moment, all that was important was making sure that Loki felt as comfortable as possible, so that he could get better as soon as he could. And regardless of whether that took one day or whether it took a week, Tony would stay by Loki’s side.


End file.
